Deters took many side roads along path to legal career

Charlie Deters and his brother, Jerry, formed Deters Construction Co. in 1946 and began building houses when Charlie was a 17-year-old sophomore at Villa Madonna (now Thomas More) College. It was the start of a whirlwind career in law and business that’s ranged from counseling some of Northern Kentucky’s biggest institutions to franchising pizza parlors.

Following a stint in the Army in Germany, where he ran a small hospital, Deters founded Northern Kentucky’s largest law firm, Deters Benzinger & LaVelle (now Dressman Benzinger LaVelle); bred championship horses on his 1,000-acre Ben-D Farm; bought, built and sold several banks; developed real estate; chaired and served on the boards of Thomas More and St. Elizabeth Medical Center for decades; and built Snappy Tomato Pizza into a multistate restaurant franchise.

Three years after retiring from his law firm, on Dec. 2, Deters was presented with the Distinguished Lawyer of the Year award by the Northern Kentucky Bar Association.

Sarah Tankersley, a lawyer at Santen & Hughes and president of the Northern Kentucky Bar Association, said the award usually goes to someone near the end of his or her career, reflecting a lifetime of professionalism. Deters’ acceptance speech at the awards dinner – they’re sometimes quite lengthy, Tankersley said – was brief.

“He said, ‘Even though I’m 82, I can still move pretty fast.’ That’s all he said, and then he sat down,” she said.

Apparently in a more talkative frame of mind a week later, Deters sat down with the Business Courier at his farm office near Walton and looked back on his career. Here are a few snippets:

“The day I walked in the office, people followed me in and I never did get a breather. That’s just the way it was. By the time I left, we had 41 lawyers, 60 staff. It was twice as big as any law firm in Northern Kentucky.

“The partners, they would say, ‘We vote for something and then Charlie decides.’ You have that right when you’re senior.

“New lawyers come to the office, and they’d start telling them about the dress code. Then they’d look at ’em and they’d say, ‘Now don’t tell me Mr. Deters doesn’t dress that way. When you’re here as long as he is, you can dress the way you want to.’ I had a hard time being formal.”

On his work with hospitals:

“At one time I was a trustee of seven hospitals. Every time there’d be a problem someplace, they’d send me. So I really got to know hospitals. Then when we redid St. Elizabeth Hospital, they put me on the board there. First meeting I got elected chairman. I was 30 years old, I think. But nothing scared me.”

On being hired by the Diocese of Covington, still a DBL client, in 1960:

“I represented Bishop (Richard) Ackerman 19 years and I never did send a bill or be paid anything. It was just a joy. I never was a big biller. I hate time sheets.”

On being honored by the bar:

“Getting that award, I guess maybe it’s lifetime accomplishments. Sometimes I think lawyers are reluctant to give active lawyers an award, from a business point of view.”

On building houses while in law school:

“My routine was, class went from 7:30 in the morning till 2:30 p.m. After I got out of class, I’d go to the job site – I had two men working for me – and stay there till 5 p.m. when they quit. Then I’d go back to the library at UC and stay there until 10:30 p.m. when the library closed. So I paid my own way through high school, college and law school. And when I graduated, I had some money in the bank and a new Chevrolet car.”

On life in the U.S. Army:

“I got the award in basic training for having the best attitude. I’d been seven years in college ... with that kind of regimen. I was so happy not to have to do anything except this easy stuff in the Army. I could be in a good mood all the time.”

On his accomplishments:

“Life is remarkable. I’m most proud of the family. We have a remarkable family. We have 11 children and they’re all workaholics. ... Probably the thing I feel that I’m as much proud of as anything is the hospitals. St. Elizabeth (Medical Center) is a tremendous institution.”

On the key to his success:

“I’ll tell you what it is, if it is anything, it’s the ability to go to the essence of the problem. Quick. I don’t know why that is. Bishop Ackerman said, ‘How do you think so quick?’”